Early in the book he says:

"you must not come lightly to the blank page".

The irony of this quote is that this book was completed after his his very serious accident. He was hit head on while walking along along the gravel shoulder of Maine State Road Route 5. It was his habit to walk along this same road in the country near his house. It was June 19, 1999 at about 4:30 PM when a van coming towards him hit him. H e flipped and flew through the air landing 14 feet from the road.

When this terrible accident happened this book was about half way through the first draft. He offers a lot of detail on the event and his recovery. You really see that he did not indeed re-approach his writing lightly.

The book covered events from his life growing up, school experiences, his marriage, early efforts at writing and his first big success, the book Carrie.

He discusses the craft of writing and offers examples that are a real help. The whole book, life history and all, were examples of writing style and you learn just from reading it. Another statement of his I like is:

If you want to be a writer you have to do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.

The idea of why you have to read a lot really didn't sink in for me until I read this book. The reality that you have to read before you learn to write is something that takes time to sink in. This book helped.

The value of reading also changed for me because of Stephen King. I have gotten over feeling I had to be reading only classic literature and have come to value good stories. I enjoy his books but some do scare me. You will have to see which ones scare you but two I could mention for me were "Christine" and "Revival".

In Professor Bloom's books you learn more about him and his opinions in the Preface and Prologue. The reason is because he just demonstrates what ever he wants to say using other authors he knows so well in the rest of the book. "How To Read And Why" is no exception to this.

Rather than offer a review of the whole book myself, I am just going to take some good parts of these two sections and copy them here for some folks that I have suggested come here.

Important thoughts I believe.

Taken from the Preface & Prologue

"There is no single way to read well, though there is a prime reason why we should read..............it is where shall wisdom be found?

Reading well is one of the great pleasures that solitude can afford you, because it is the most healing of pleasures.

It returns you to otherness...........Imaginative literature is otherness and as such alleviates loneliness.

We read not only because we cannot know enough people, but because friendship is so vulnerable............This book teaches how to read and why........... never separate the how and the why.

(Quoting Virginia Woolf) The only advice about reading that one person can give another is to take no advice.

Why Read

Because It matters if individuals are to retain any capacity to form their own judgments and opinions, that they continue to read for themselves.

How they read, well or badly, and what they read, cannot depend wholly upon themselves, but why they read must be for and in their own interest.

You can read only to pass the time, or you can read with an overt urgency, but eventually you will read against the clock..................

One of the uses of reading is to prepare ourselves for change, and the final change alas is universal. ...........

Read not to contradict and confute, nor to believe and take for granted, nor to find talk and discourse, but to weigh and consider.

The pleasures of reading are indeed selfish, rather than social. You cannot directly improve anyone else's life by reading better or more deeply.....................

Do not attempt to improve your neighbor, or your neighborhood, by what or how you read.

Read deeply, not to believe, not to accept, not to contradict, but to learn to share in that one nature that writes and reads."

Where Shall Wisdom be Found? In books.

Why do we read? Because it matters.

I have made some comments below about Professor Bloom and his favorite Shakespearean character, Falstaff.

Harold Bloom is a Shakespeare Scholar (the greatest of our time) and Sterling Professor of Humanities at Yale. He was a former Harvard Professor. He knows the plays like no one alive today. He is 86 years old, and "another book", wow!

He has said of Shakespeare that these particuar plays represents his talent the best: Henry IV and parts 1 and 2 of Henry V. His makes this choice because of his appreciation and love of the character Falstaff who has interesting roles in these plays.

Falstaff is a happy guy (Tragic and Comic). He mocks faith, can be lewd, funny and reckless. When thinking of him Bloom offers these comments for traits: 'age, care, wisdom, reflection, begone!". He imagines Falstaff and Socrates meeting in a pub and trading wit. This would be the ideal play script and it has been a wish of his for many years.

I hope at 86 I can care enough about some of my reading to imagine my own plots. What focus to have carried the image of character you read about for years. It testifies of both the strength of the author and of the student.

By Michael Finkel

People spend their lives in cities or in the country virtually all have a roof over their head. Christopher Knight chose something different. At age 20 he left his home in Massachusetts and drove to Maine. He went into the forest and did not have any human contact for almost 30 years. He had taught himself some survival techniques but mostly learned through the processes he lived through. He lived mainly in a tent where of course the winters were very cold and harsh.

He had no food and lived off the land. Sometimes he broke into area houses for food, clothing, reading material and whatever he could find. He said he only took what he needed but it was a frighting experience for the communities and it finally lead to his capture.

He was interviewed and the material for this book came from those notes. His life is detailed in this book as are some of the reasons he chose to leave. Problems in returning were also discussed.

Henry David Thoreau's book, Walden; Or Life in the Woods

Thoreau's experience in the woods was very different than Christopher Knights. As you read in his book "Walden" you find the experiences almost surreal. They were harsh but nature seemed to accommodate him. The experience and his efffort was what seemed to be a form of religion. He likely learned a lot as he went through the experience but before ever going into the woods he was a naturalist, essayist, and early environmentalist.

He said of this time in his life to the world that he:

wished to "live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and … learn what it had to teach."

He actually wound up building a cabin on the shores of Walden Pond — on land owned by Ralph Waldo Emerson — outside Concord, Massachusetts. He said of that time that he observed nature, farmed, built fences, surveyed, and wrote in his journal.

These two books both spoke of confronting nature but they couldn't be more different.

Harold Fry is a retired sales rep, and a worn down husband. Up to the time he retires he was a "passive observer of his own life", but that changes as we walk with him and ponder over his life.

His passive response to his past has a lot to do with his wife, his son, and events at work over a long career. He receives a letter and learns that his friend from work twenty years ago, Queenie Hennessy, has cancer. It has been years since he had any contact, but he decides to go see her. It requires him to walk 627 miles and takes 87 days. (Not sure why he felt he had to walk but the book wouldn't be the book if he had just jumped in the car)

The journey and the experiences frees him from his past but it also seems to offer some freedom to the reader. His wife worries a lot but then she winds up being freed from her past. We experience the walk ourselves and as a lifetime of problems seem to slip away for Harold maybe some of our own problems start to seem a little different?

Three questions occur to me about Harold's Pilgrimage. Does making this trip make sense? Could things really change because of the trip? Do the things that happened make sense?

A question of interest would be to learn "Why" Rachel Joyce wrote this book about Harold Fry? What did she want to do? Did she want the reader to leave wondering about Queenie Hennessy, his work friend who wrote him the letter, enough to then buy her next book? ( I haven't done that) She could have just wanted to write about why dull lives are not really dull if you think a lot about them. So go ahead and read the book and think about that

The book is well worth reading even if your not sure why it was written?

George Orwell, may have changed the world with his book "1984", but what brought him to the point where his writing reflected such deep political insight? Has his books changed the world?

The book, "Why I Write", gives some insight into these questions, and into the author and is useful in understanding all of his works.

A group of independent movie theaters across the country soon will begin showing the movie "1984" as a Presidential protest. This political use of a movie is unusual in itself but the ideas in that movie seem more commonplace now. Why has the movie and the book, "1984" resonated so much right now/

In the book "Why I Write" The author gave four reasons for writing. One was to write for a Political Purpose. He described the word political to mean:

"Desire to push the world in a certain direction, to alter other people's idea of the kind of society that they should strive after".........

He said that "no book is genuinely free from political bias". (see "What Matters" section of this blog for the other 3 reasons)

The book also shows the impact of his life experiences on his thinking. He was born in India and he served with their Imperial Police and also in the Republican Army in the Spanish Civil War. Knowing that and also his thoughts about why to write add a lot to his books messages and conclusions.

George Orwell gave 4 good reasons to write in his book "Why I Write".

1. Sheer egoism. This is probably obvious but he also suggested that writers share this with scientists, artists, politicians, lawyers and others.

2. Aesthetic enthusiasm. This has to do with the beauty of the world.

3. Historical impulse. This is the need to let folks know the facts.

4. Political purpose. This, in part, is "the desire to push the world in a certain direction, to alter people's idea of the kind of society that they should strive after".

I don't see anything, in any of the 4, that couldn't have the idea of being genuine added to it. If the person is motivated by a sincere and genuine desire, rather than one intended to deceive, then these all can be answers to the question, "What Matters". This was previously posted in the What Matters sectio

The Joy of Painting with Bob Ross

Painter of the Happy Little Tree

This post on Bob Ross may be a little surprise. Many will not remember him. His show on television (1983 - 1994) was a delight to watch. He would talk with his soft voice while he painted. He would talk about what he was painting and the approach he was using. He really had a talent and when he painted a tree it was like magic. It just came into existence right in front of your eyes.

Often he would take his brush to a place and begin to paint and would say that he was painting a "Happy Little Tree". Loved it when he did that. I have thought of that phrase so many times over the years. O yes, "A Happy Little Tree". Bob Ross had a passion for what he loved.

I was surprised looking at Amazon, where his book is listed and can be bought, that you can go to a merchandise list for Bob Ross items. You can, for example, buy Bob Ross Socks. Wow! That is interesting.

Passion for what you love is the message that Bob still conveys.

Sometimes we just seem to hit a brick wall. We don't know what to do next? Creativity is blocked. The last post on this blog was about two authors who do a wonderful job in writing about writing. This post is a follow up post to what was said.

As said, both Anne Lamott and Natalie Goldberg, in their books on writing, really teach more by how they write than what they say about writing. Instructional writing does carry more value when it's message is constructed with such high quality standards. Reading becomes a pleasure.

Anne Lamott's book, in many places, is like a very private, personal letter, directed to just you.

If reading about writing is uplifting to a writer (and it was) then going and getting closer to the artists in other areas will help those artists. Take a look at these books. If you have a favorite book that is about the basics of your craft, go back and read it again.

Books about writing. especially those that are done by someone who is very skilled at the process, give you a boost and renew you.

Carolyn See, Natalie Goldberg, Mary Karr, Anne Lamott, Anne Dillard and a few others are all very talented, and it is just a pleasure to read what they write about writing.

Anne Lamott's seems to have been born a writer. I mean most of these talented people loved writing and books from an early age, but she really seems to have been a actual writer at an early age.

Her father was a writer and her accounts of her early life and his influence are a unique side of her. In this book she transitions into her chapters on writing technique from her own life story and the advice her father gave her brother. The book took it's name from that advice where he counseled him to tackle his story on birds, one bird at a time.

Her advice on writing is pretty basic, but it just feels different. It is her ability to offer simple advice in such a easy to read, free flowing style, that is so effective. You find yourself relaxing and just enjoying her language and her perspective on the process.

Some authors seem to put an unusual word or phrase into the dialog to "wake you up", but with Anne she evolves quite naturally from instruction to the language of life itself.

It is a good book and it can help you go back and "sharpen the saw" as Steven Covey would say.

I liked Natalie Goldberg from the first time I read her books. She had me on board when I realized that New Mexico was special to her. I love New Mexico and figure that it is indeed a "Land of Enchantment" but it takes a special person to see that, and they are usually artists.

Natalie brings Zen and Spirituality into her approach to finding creativity. She explores their sources in some unique ways. She looks closely at the processes of daily writing, where you write and even what you use to write.

She sees inspiration as coming from the effort. Not just the result but effort itself. The book covers the basics of writing and does it well.

Finding creativity within and releasing it, is different than seeking it from from outside influences.

This book could be an introductory approach to writing. It discusses some classes she taught for beginners. Looking inside ourselves to find creativity may not resonate with the beginning writer but it will be a real plus for the seasoned writer who goes to this book to get recharged. Natalie is a true professional.

Read both books. Recharge your batteries., Experience good writing about good writing.

Paula Hawkins is a British author who wrote "The Girl on the Train". It has been published in over forty languages, has been a #1 bestseller around the world, and is now a major motion picture starring Emily Blunt. The book is a psychological thriller novel which deals with themes of domestic violence, alcohol, and drug abuse. The books success is amazing. Amazon has over 56,000 reviews for the book. Even though the overall rating is 4 stars out of 5 there are negative comments and people have mixed comments. The negatives are that book is a “fast read”. The plot moves you quickly, but it doesn’t stick with you too long when you finish.

With this kind of former success, and another book coming, you wonder how the new book will do?

I wanted to know more about this author? She worked as a journalist for fifteen years before turning her hand to fiction. She was born and brought up in Zimbabwe. Paula moved to London in 1989. She moved to darker fiction as a style after her book The Money Goddess: The Complete Financial Makeover was released in 2007.

"Into the Water", is scheduled to be released May 2, 2017. It is her second dark fiction thriller.

Will “Into the Water” do as well as “The Girl on the Train”? We will have to wait to see. The book will be released on May 2nd, 2017.

You can click on the book link and order it here through Amazon or just put it on your to buy list.